President Putin: Revenues From Oil Sale Won't Help Unless Russia Updates Its Economy

Russia needs a competitive economy, otherwise neither Samatlor oil nor godsends will help it. President Vladimir Putin said so as he was closing a Vologda conference with Russian trade union leaders. Putin had arrived in Vologda Saturday for a one-day working visit. The creation of a competitive economy will require effective labour and the elimination of administrative and bureaucratic barriers between employers and employees, said the President. The Cabinet will receive related instructions in the wake of the conference, he concluded.